In the past, hoppers have been provided for transferring concrete from a cement truck to a conveyor. However, these hoppers have met with difficulty in that they have jammed and plugged with concrete as it enters the small opening of the hopper provided for depositing the concrete on a conveyor belt for distribution. Also, prior hoppers have not readily permitted ground level operation and mobility of the conveyor. Prior conventional concrete hoppers have not provided means for suspending the conveyor within and under the hopper to maintain the hopper low enough to receive discharge from a standard type truck. Also, traditional concrete hoppers have been aligned with the direction of belt travel making discharge into the hopper at a low, uniform level impossible due to the angle of repose of concrete within the hopper.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hopper for cementious material and the like which is economical to construct and efficient in operation. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a hopper having a two part auger blade to drive cementious material from both ends of the hopper toward the discharge opening so as to avoid jamming and plugging and the like.
One of the main advantages of the present invention is the provision of a concrete hopper having the auger floatably mounted for rotation within the hopper so that lumps such as rocks in the concrete which may tend to lodge between the auger blade and hopper will not cause jamming of the auger. A further object of the present invention is to provide a hopper which may be readily connected to and disconnected from the conveyor.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an auger hopper which may be readily substituted for a conventional hopper. These and other objects of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.